War, Pride, and Nobility
by FluxBlade
Summary: He was just a simple mercenary trying to avoid being a noble, while she was trying running from her noble family to force them to see the truth. One small change affects both their futures.
1. Boats and Apostles

**A/N:** Well, I had been reading a few "crack" fics and felt like it would be interesting to try to write one. I picked this particular pairing because of the fact that Ike disliked being a noble, and with how Astrid is trying to deal with her noble family though it could work. So, all it takes is a little more reflection from one person to cause a bit of believable change.

**Standard Disclaimer:** I do not own Fire Emblem, if I did, the support bonus would have been different.

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The day had started out breezy, helping their ride along their path on the ocean. While Ike did not get seasick, it would be nice to be back on solid ground. That way Mist, his sister, would stop worrying about their older thief's, Volke, eating habits and he would have more useable space for dodging in case a fight broke out with pirates again. Since according to their ship's captain, Nasir, there was a still a chance that more raven laguz would attack.

When his father took the job to protect the Princess of Crimea, Ike never expected that he would end up head of the mercenaries and that they would be sailing to Begnion. He ran his fingers through his blue hair as his eyes patrolled the mostly clear water, sure land was always in sight, but it was Goldoa, home of the dragon laguz. The port in Begnion was less than a week away and perhaps the growing headache he had gained would go away then.

First the weapon forger bugged him about a war game that oddly enough would be helpful if the mercenaries ended up in any ship-to-ship battles. Then came the item shop lady who had a recently discovered crush on him, hopefully either Titania or Soren would be able to pick up the gear for the company without putting too much work on their shoulders. She scared him, with how she looked at him as though he was her possession or something.

After putting the supplies away, he next found the Daein wyvern-rider who was blustering with pride that she could handle the rest of the mercenaries, but stayed because she did not effectively plan out her actions. Ike had walked away from that conversation shaking his head, there was something else to her, but he would delve into that later. Lastly, he ran into the three brothers, Oscar, Boyd, and Rolf, who were plotting about something, but it was nice to see them get along in their usual way. He was interrupted from his musing by Nasir, who wanted to talk to both himself and Princess Elincia about a messenger.

The fact that Begnion knew about the Princess was surprising to the blue-haired mercenary, though he would have time later to wonder about it with the Apostle's ship under attack. The mercenaries formed up, with a few staying back to protect the princess in case the raven laguz attempted to attack from the rear. After identifying themselves to the frantic guards, who held their lances at the ready with more resolve after hearing the news, Ike noticed one of the brown-haired guards as a former member of the mercenaries, Gatrie.

Giving the order to charge over, Ike let the three horse riders, Kieran, Oscar, and Titania, ride ahead while Marcia and Jill flew across the gap between the two ships to engage the ravens. After crossing over the bridge, he noticed the only horse rider in the Begnion forces was having trouble defending herself against one of the enemy myrmidon. The man's latest pass slightly damaged her armor, and upon seeing this, Gatrie rushed over as fast as he could in his heavy armor and slammed his lance into the enemy, who dropped from the hit.

Ike came towards her as another pirate, one of the many with lances, was attacking another Begnion guard. A quick slash on his back followed by the guard slamming forward with his lance dispatched the enemy. Ike then approached the black haired rider and after talking with her, was surprised to learn that she was a noble and willing to get her hands dirty by fighting. Seeing the ravens coming closer, he offered to work together with her. The conversation was cut short as he dodged a stab from a lance and swung down on the unidentified enemy, slamming into his helmet. He brought his sword up and ramming his sword past his target's defenses, hitting the man as the blow fell him.

Oscar rushing at one of the halberdiers grabbed Ike's attention and he followed, hoping to take control of the planks, giving the guards a chance to receive a breather. Upon reaching the enemy, the man drove his javelin at him, which grazed his shoulder as he retaliated with a swing that drew blood on his attacker's left arm. Oscar cut off any further attacks with his own javelin that knocked the enemy to the ground as he rode up and shoved the javelin deeper before pulling it out and the horse stepped past the body.

Mist ran up to Ike and waved a heal staff over his shoulder, making the pain and wound vanish. Thanking his sister, Ike charged one of the mages that was standing in front of a chest that was also trying to hit Marcia on her pegasus. The swing connected and as the mage jumped back, his chest was leaking out blood. The man started chanting and a ferocious blast of wind blasted into the mercenary leader, injuring Ike's leg. He countered with a slash that traveled from the top of the shoulder and exited at the bottom of his lower torso. Dropping the man, Ike turned to check over his forces, few sported any injuries, as Mist kept the group in fighting shape. The enemy had been routed except for the apparent leader, a redheaded sniper that was avoiding Boyd's axe swing as a second arrow from Rolf nicked his shoulder. Oscar and Kieran were rushing their horses to reinforce them.

Ike wiped his forehead with his cloak as he scanned over the water and the total number of ravens in battle near the Apostle's ship now numbered at six. The newest four seemed to ignore the battle and were heading towards the cargo both ships were carrying.

Moving back to the Apostle's ship, he ordered, "The ravens are heading after the cargo on both ships, keep them away the supplies." Soren and surprisingly Gatrie moved to protect the closest cargo as the blue-armored knight moved to draw the attention of the ravens. However, the two ravens ignored both fighters as the first flew past the prepped lance and grabbed an axe while the other flew close to the edge of the ship, outside of melee range. Even with the ability to fly, the raven did not escape a retaliated strike from Gatrie that hit him in the chest, draw a thin line of blood and as the laguz attempted to reach the open waters with its newly acquired possession, a blast of wind from Soren's magic tome slammed into him, killing him as he fell to the deck of the ship.

The second one found himself trapped between the lances of Marcia and Jill who quickly gutted it like a fish. The sound of a loud cheer from Boyd and Rolf grabbed Ike's attention as he smiled at the two brothers, while Oscar and Kieran moved to protect the green-haired thief, Sothe, as he relieved the enemy of their supplies.

Wiping the blood off of his sword, Ike glanced around and noticed the last two of the original six ravens had passed by the remainder of the Apostle's guard and flew off with more weapons. Jill attempted to stop the first raven, who took a hit from her lance as it damaged part of his wing but he was able to pass by the wyvern rider.

The other became trapped by Marcia cutting it off and was forced to fly over the ship where Oscar and Kieran double-teamed with a quick axe slash and lance strike to drop it with its cargo.

The other Raven passed the railing of the ship before an arrow streaked out and slammed into his wing, which caused him to falter and drop. The slowly dying raven crashed into the waves as Marcia flew down and recovered the stolen weapon before it sunk into the ocean.

Ike smiled as he looked up and noticed that the knight he had talked to had made the shot. The loud roar of the Apostle's pegasus knights announced the fact the raven laguz had been chased off.

He quickly located both Titania and Soren and as they moved to return to their ship to make sure nothing was pilfered during the battle. The checking of their supplies was delayed when it was determined that the Apostle went missing as the mercenaries decided to helped out.

To the surprise of the group, the Apostle ended up being a young child. Ike had yet again put his foot in his mouth, but the Apostle seemed to be mostly amused while talking down to the mercenaries. Tanith, one of the pegasus knights, had offered the stolen cargo as payment for finding the Apostle, which Soren had gladly accepted for the group, with that the mercenaries migrated back to their ship.

Ike's progress was halted by Gatrie, who was blocking the way with the bow-knight, who was standing there wiping a bit of blood off her horse that mostly like came from one of the pirates.

"Hey, Commander, you've grown so much, I was wondering if I could come back and join the group again. I assume the captain of the ship would have enough room for the lady and I?" He wondered as he broke out in a grin.

"If need be, I can pay for our passage." The rider finished wiping down the horse as she dug into one of the pouches in the saddle.

"No, Lady Astrid, you should not need to waste your valuable coin for this. To pay for my employer for the rest of the trip, I will take my first mission free, surely that should be sufficient?" Ike looked to Soren who was examining Gatrie with no change of bearing before answering,

"That would be acceptable, though wouldn't it be more comfortable being on the Apostle's ship?" Soren stared at the noble who had gripped her bow a bit harder.

"My employer is granting me a boon in being able to meet everyone in our little group. I saw a few new faces that I didn't recognize." He grinned as Ike realized whom he noticed.

"That's fine with me, welcome abroad, Lady Astrid." Ike decided before Soren could have responded. Gatrie removed himself from Ike's path and followed behind Astrid.

The next three days had been the calm before the storm, as the Apostle had to delay the meeting with the Princess due to the attack. Gatrie had met everyone and there were no shown hard feelings between former teammates.

However, once the Apostle had allowed them to meet with her, the calm broke. He never would have believed before that someone would be willing to kill someone over a small slight spoken. It would have been even worse if Elincia did not get the help she needed because of his outburst.

Roaming the castle area did not help, since he first found Gatrie, who was up to his usual ways.

Passing another corner, he leaned against the wall as he ran his hand through his hair. _If the Apostle was serious, I may have another one of these games of wit and words to deal with. If I'm with the Princess, keeping my mouth shut should be easy, but if it is a dinner or something, I don't want to endanger the Princess's position due to not eating like a noble. I would ask the Princess for help, but she has been busy garnering favors from Begnion nobles, no need to trouble her anymore. _He sighed as he took a deep breath to regain his composure.

"Commander Ike?" He turned to the voice, which belonged to the black-haired noble woman.

"Hm? Oh, it's you." He pushed off of the wall as she came closer.

"Are you trying to clear your head as well?" She wondered as she clasped her hands together. He bit back the first response he had, his curiosity needing to be quenched.

"So, did you head home? Gatrie mentioned that he was finished with his escort, your parents were happy to see you I assume?" She glanced at her hands in response, which drew Ike's gaze.

"Actually, I joined the knights to confront my family, Begnion here is too steeped in tradition that it lost sight of the most important things." Ike nodded to her when she looked up before she continued, "However, I still do not feel confident enough as a knight. When I draw back the bowstring, my hands still shake. I want to get stronger, Commander Ike, the others say that you never give up, no matter how bleak the fight. Please, allow me to continue fighting by your side."

"Your skill with the bow is spectacular. We're glad to have you. Actually I do have a favor to ask." He smiled, the group had nearly doubled in size since Shinon and Gatrie left and he had kept everyone alive so far.

"Of course, what is it Commander?" She looked up at him with wide eyes.

"Well, since the Princess is being dragged to social events, I may be called upon to join her, and at almost all of them, she's had food to eat. I know you nobles have silly ways that food has to be eaten, could you teach me how to eat properly for a noble?" He couldn't believe he was asking this, she would probably laugh.

"Sure, though we need to get a hold of the proper utensils. Perhaps we can see if they are serving food right now?" She brightened as he nodded.

"Well, first I better tell Oscar that he doesn't need to make any for me." He remarked as they traveled back to where the group was staying.

They made it as Mist walked out of kitchen and smiled at her brother while wiping her hands on a towel.

"Hey Ike, you're going to offer to help cook?" Ike shook his head as his sister grinned.

"Are you the one cooking?" He peered in the open door, checking to see if the green haired rider was in there.

"No, Oscar is, I just helped with a bit of the preparation. Oh, you're Astrid, right? Did you come here to have Oscar's cooking?" The brown haired young woman turned her attention to Astrid.

"Actually Mist, can you tell Oscar that I won't be at dinner?" Her gaze jumped back to her brother as she motioned for him to explain. He sighed before answering, "You know how Elincia has to go to those social functions?" She nodded as he continued, "well, I may have to go to those as her bodyguard and I don't want to ruin Elincia's reputation anymore. So I asked Astrid for help." Mist started to giggle as he stared at her.

"I have got to see this, hey Oscar!" She ran off into the kitchen as Ike went to grab her arm.

"Mist, don't go telling… nevermind." A few seconds later, she walked back out and up to the two.

"Let's go. Poor Astrid, getting you to eat properly is going to be so hard." She stuck her tongue out at her brother as they started walking. Ike shook his head as Astrid found them a small room with a table that could fit six easily. The meal went poorly, as he found out that the water bowl was for washing at the beginning and end of the meal instead of leaving the silverware in at the end. Also, having different forks for one meal, the nobles definitely did not clean their own dishes. The three left, as Ike needed to double-check the group's supplies before they continued on. If they couldn't find what they needed here, then the merchant caravan was being weird.

The next four days went better than expected, while they had nothing to do, as his fears were unfounded, the nightly practices gave the two siblings a fun time with Astrid, much to Ike's chagrin. The three avoided talking about family, which Soren would have found suspicious. At least Ike could passably manage at one of these functions, unless he had to talk.

He also found that others had been able to relax a bit since he kept himself busy. The only problem was if Gatrie kept up his actions, he had a feeling that one of the guards would be finding him to complain. Fortunately for the group, Sigrun, the personal guard of the Apostle, had requested them for a mission. Upon finding out where they were supposed to go, he had everyone ready to go within an hour. It seemed most of the group was ready to go even if they did not act like it. They left the capital and headed out for one of the old highways.

The fog covered the area easily, which made it simple for the mercenaries to set up the ambush. The bandits had to cross the wooden bridges in front of them that Ike and Oscar were blocking. Astrid and Soren stood behind the two, while Sothe was ready to dive in when an opening showed.

Ike could barely see about fifteen feet in front of him, he glanced to the left, the rest of the group that came was going to flank the enemies from that direction. The group also took the torch, to hide the five that stayed behind. This was the first time he could not tell where his sister actually was on the battlefield if he looked for her and the constant glances were not helping his Kieran had sworn upon his honor as a royal knight that his sister would receive nary a scratch, he had been more relieved when Titania told Ike that she would keep an eye out for her.

Oscar took off at one of the appearing archers, with Sothe following quickly behind to help out. One of the peddlers charged at Ike as he stood at the ready. The axe was dripping with a purple liquid, most likely poisoned. The enemy swung down, with Ike using his sword to parry the strike. Once insuring the attack failed, he stabbed forward at the pirate's left shoulder. The strike hit as the pirate shouted in pain, Ike pulled the sword out and backed up a few steps, allowing Soren's blast of wind to rip into the man. The pirate gurgled as he toppled over, as Ike turned to check for enemies, he dropped to the ground as a hand axe came straight for where his neck used to be.

Soren began to chant his spell while the new attacker charged the now prone ranger. Upon reaching five feet away, an arrow penetrated his chest, which slowed him long enough for Soren's magic to drop him. Ike stood quickly, shaking his head at himself for nearly losing his head.

"I doubt the two of them need help, but I don't want to leave Oscar alone with Sothe in his second battle." He took off ahead across the bridge with Astrid riding slower behind, while she watched the bridge, making sure her horse didn't misstep. Soren followed without saying a word, the nonverbal communication telling Ike that he agreed.

The group met up with Oscar and Sothe, the green haired knight showed no signs of injuries while Sothe had a burn mark from where a magic spell had hit.

"Ike, the rest of our forces are probably still hitting the other side, if the enemy fights like most of the enemies we have dealt with before, the leader is up ahead. I suggest we wait for reinforcements, since Sothe needs attention." Oscar suggested as he kept watch out for any enemies attacking.

"Wouldn't that give the enemy even more time to set up a trap? Soren, any ideas?" Ike wondered as he gave Sothe a quick look over while noticing the thief glancing forward, while trying to hide his pain from the spell.

"Well, Sothe could meet the group going that way on the bridge over there, it's small enough that our forces can't miss him. It is doubtful the enemy would have ignored us for this long, so the danger is minimal to him. Marcia and Jill could fly across the water and join us past the bridge, most of the fighters here are not strong opponents, with those two as reinforcements, as long as they don't pass either Ike or Oscar, we should be fine." Soren concluded.

"Thanks Soren. Sothe, you heard the man. Soren and Astrid, cover us." Sothe grumbled before heading out. Ike watched him for a few seconds before moving towards the next bridge, Oscar's horse keeping pace with him. Soren was following behind as Astrid covered the rear of the group.

About halfway across the bridge, Ike tensed as a couple of roars came from the fog. Two tiger laguz bursted out of the fog, their stares felt wrong to Ike as he positioned his sword to block. A set of jaws collided with his sword, keeping it away from his body. The tiger reached out with one of its claws and raked him across his shoulder. Ike grunted as he noticed the bleeding. He felt the wake of an arrow pass by him as the laguz was struck in the leg. Giving it a shove with the sword, Ike forced his target back as he prepared to strike back. Another arrow struck the tiger again lower but in same leg. It ignored the attack as it leapt at Ike, completely ignoring the tearing it was inflicting upon the leg. Lunging with his sword, Ike hissed in pain as he felt the blow hit the mark and the huge mass toppled onto him. The force dropped him as he barely moved in time to prevent the sword from slamming into his chest.

"Ike!" Soren had rushed to where his commander's head was visible as he was starting to groan, the wound still leaked blood.

"Soren, I'm still conscious, just move it off me." He wanted to say he was fine, but nobody would believe him so it wasn't worth the waste of breath. Muttering a few words, the blast of wind breezed above Ike as it lifted and tossed the bleeding corpse away.

"Hey, handsome, Mist wanted to come, she thought you would be doing something reckless, I guess she was right." The sound of hooves hitting the ground announced his sister's arrival as she gasped.

"You big dummy, what were you thinking?" She berated as she brought her mend staff up to his shoulder as he felt the wounds close. He heard the sound of hooves digging into the ground as he felt the ground shake as people started to leave. _At least Soren is having the team finish the job._

"How did the battle go over there, Mist?" Ike flexed his shoulder as she moved the staff down his body, the tenderness vanishing from where the laguz had collided into him.

"I did not get injured, as the only enemy to even notice me had Kieran charging him down while yelling something about his duty. Thanks, Ike, for letting me go with the main group, even if I was needed here more." She finished using the mend staff as she helped him up. "We should catch up with the others, right?" His response was covered by the yells of Crimea's fifth platoon leader as he charged down the bridge. Who was followed closely behind by Titania and the rest of the mercenaries.

"Ike, are you alright?" The red-haired mercenary asked as she slowed her horse to a stop.

"Yes, the other six took off for the rest, we better catch up." With that the group headed across the bridge. As the mist cleared, the sight of all six mercenaries standing, with four of them next to their mounts with Sothe playing with an axe that had to have been recovered from an enemy. Soren waved Mist off as he walked up to Ike,

"We defeated the enemy. We are in combat ready condition and the caravan is ready to be delivered to the Apostle. Though it seems like the there is something alive in the crates." The tactician explained with a frown.

"She is up to something, I wouldn't be surprised if they had another mission for us when we get back." Soren stared at his friend while Titania walked over. "After insulting her, she hires us for a mission even though she has plenty of people she could send here. The nobles here like to play games, so obviously we are a part of hers."

"Perhaps Sigrun will tell us about it if we ask?" Titania mused as smiled at her commander.

"Yes, I agree with Titania, Sigrun seems more amendable than Tanith for telling us information." With that the three joined the rest of the group and started moving the cargo to Sienne.

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Just a heads up, the two aren't going to be having the falling very quickly for each other, but hopefully I will do the romance justice. Please review and thank you for reading.


	2. Senators and Slavery

**A/N** Thank you very much to everyone that read and a special thanks to Exum and Grayjack72. It looks like I'm covering two chapters of Path of Radiance with each written chapter, though I'm not sure if it will continue this way.

**Disclaimer: **If I owned the series, we'll it would have taken later to come out, let's leave it at that.

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Ike had been right about the Apostle having another mission for them, this time it was dealing with bandits in the Grann desert. He had been advised by Sigrun that those on horseback would find it difficult to travel. What had surprised him was that Soren hadn't already told him this information. He seemed to have been distracted about something, as he spent most of his time in the library, according to Mist. What he did not understand was why Soren would not talk to him.

The mercenaries found the 'bandits' who claimed that they were dogs of the senate and were trying to hide the truth. This made Ike suspicious of the actual orders and ordered everyone to leave the bandits alive once defeated if possible. Jill had been the only one to complain, but he noticed that after her initial grumbling that she did not go against orders. Of course, the fact that Marcia stayed with her probably helped.

Ike had decided to keep the group mostly together, except for the two thieves who were finding treasure. Lethe also broke off, following after the two fliers while Mordokai volunteered to protect Mist, much to the commander's relief.

As they closed in on the boss, two hawk and tiger laguz attack them. They were heavily injured by Soren's and Ilyana's fire magic, as Boyd and Nephenee struck to remove them from the fight. Ike had then taken down the enemy leader, using the laguz-slayer Volke had pilfered from a Daein commander in Toha. He may have been able to stand up against the enemy without it, but he wanted to end the fight quickly. It took four passes and a heavily bleeding leg, but Muarim had lost.

The rest of the bandits surrendered and Tormod, a beorc mage, placed himself in defense of the tiger. This led to an illuminating discussion explaining that the group was rescuing laguz slaves that the nobles were still keeping against the law.

Ike then delivered the boy to meet Sanaki and there learned that there was another person willing to insult the Apostle. After confirming the truth about Sanaki using them for a good cause, he had Soren and Titania prepare the supplies while grabbing those that he felt were needed to investigate one of the senators, who the Apostle had suspicion was part of the slave keeping. Oscar had to stay since Kieran had decided to injury himself and it was not worth the effort in convincing the man he was not being passed over for his rival. Jill and Marcia stayed back, mostly due to the fact their mounts needed rest. Tormod demanded loudly to him that he should come, to prove that he could help. Muarim also offered to help as he wanted to free any captured slaves.

The next person he met in the group's area was a swordsman named Stefan, who had joined last mission, after greeting him, he helped Ike with his swordsmanship, which gave Ike enough of a reason to trust him, even if he hadn't asked Ike directly to group going was now formed of two mages, one healer, Titania, one myrmidon, as Zihark didn't feel up to his best and Mia was unable to be found, surprising Ike, one knight, as Brom wanted to talk to Zihark, Nephenee, Boyd, Sothe, he didn't want to spend anymore time looking for Volke, and he probably would shadow the group anyways, Muarim, and lastly himself.

Soren suggested that he explain to Makalov his position in the mercenaries, that way he would not go off and gamble money he did not have. As Ike moved through the area given to the mercenaries, he found the man talking to himself and had been able to surprise him with the news. It was fortunate at he had planned to start to pretend to have problems, which left the leader deciding to find someone else. Marcia will hopefully kick him into gear for the next mission he was needed for.

As he walked past the archery range the mercenaries were given to use, he saw Astrid working on her bow and one of the targets had five arrows sticking out of it near the bulls-eye.

"Hey, Astrid, how goes the practice? More comfortable with your bow now?" She looked up and smiled at the blue-haired mercenary.

"While at the practice range yes, but since my horse would be unable to move swiftly enough to come with you to the desert, I am unsure about actual battle." She explained as she finished her maintenance on the bow. Mentally counting over the number of people coming, Ike made a snap decision.

"I guess it is a good thing that you're coming then, I would like you to come when we investigate Oliver. Unless you believe that you are not up for it." He walked over to pull the arrows out, he had seen Shinon practice enough to know what to do. Of course, he wasn't sure if it didn't matter how someone pulled them out, but he didn't want to take the chance.

"I would be honored to come, Commander." She replied as she stood and replaced the arrows he handed back to her into her quiver. "I never thanked you for letting me help with the dinner lessons, especially since I was not needed after the second one. It was pleasant talking to you and your sister."

"No need to thank me, at least you had some enjoyment out of it. While the help was greatly appreciated, I doubt I will have to deal with any social outings." Ike explained as he made a final check of the weapons he was carrying.

"Well you never know, you may have to go to something in Crimea after stopping Ashnard." She paused and looked down at her bow, before continuing, "the offer to stay with the company is still valid after you head for Daein, correct Commander?"

"Of course, unless you want to leave?" She shook her head as he smiled. "That's good, then perhaps if I need a refresher later, you'll help." She looked up and nodded. With that, the two met up with the rest of those going, as Mist walked over and talked with Astrid, something about learning how to ride was all Ike could hear. Normally Soren would be explaining everything he needed to know, but he was still distracted by something. At least this time he did not have time to hide in the library, after this he needed to talk to him about what was wrong. Since he doubted anyone else would be able to get him to open up.

Ike and Soren had been the only two to stay with Oliver as the senator showed them around. The others separated into pairs, as Sothe used Tormod as cover for searching while the two pretended to be bored children, Astrid ended up being escorted by Gatrie, much to Titania's and Ike's amusement, since they realized that Astrid had no clue that the blue-armored knight was crushing on her. Boyd went with Nephenee as he seemed a bit miffed that Mist was going with Titania, and lastly Stefan went with Muarim, who seemed to be annoyed at himself for some reason.

Oliver screamed suspicious with how he hard he protested his innocence. It was confirmed when Mist and Titania saw a laguz trying to escape in an upstairs room. Oliver chose his punishment by ordering the guards to kill the messengers. Ike wasn't surprised by the stupid senator, being willing to throw his subordinates' lives away to protect his position. However, the group was at a disadvantage as the others were in different parts of the mansion.

"We need to find Tormod and Sothe especially, they are the most in danger." While Sothe could dodge, a knife rarely worked well for blocking a lance or axe. Tormod was untested in the group, though Muarim had vouched for the child mage. The group rounded a corner and found Astrid riding away from an axmen as Gatrie was taking a blow from one of the other two bandits.

"Commander." Astrid slowed her horse as Titania intercepted the axman, after blocking his initial swing, she crashed her own ax onto the enemy's skull. The man stumbled back, bleeding from the blow and found himself being dropped as Ike rammed him in the abdomen. Jerking the sword out of the body, he moved to protect Soren as the mage blasted one of Gatrie's attackers. However, it was unnecessary as they had ignored them before being struck down.

"Are you two alright?" Ike asked as Mist ran over to Gatrie, who had a few visible cuts where his armor had not been enough protection.

"Of course, I would not allow a lady of such caliber as Astrid to be injured." Gatrie explained while gesturing to Mist to help Astrid.

"Um… thank you, Gatrie." Astrid bit her lip as Ike rolled his eyes while moving towards the center of the mansion.

"The rest of the group might be in trouble, we need to hurry up." With that the group continued on, with Titania taking the lead for the group while Gatrie trudged along at the rear. Around the next couple of corners, the group found Boyd standing there with Nephenee, whose shield showed signs of magic damage.

"We took care of two mages here, haven't seen anyone else yet, Ike." Boyd explained as the two fell into position behind Titania, with Mist checking over Nephenee's injuries. "Also, one of the room sounded like there was fighting but by the time we got there, two of the Duke's men were dead and the treasure was taken."

"Probably Volke's work, he's more skilled than he let's on." Soren commented as Titania slowed her horse down as the sounds of clanking armor signaled the enemies approach from the next area. Boyd took the front as he prepared to make a wall with Titania protecting the back-lines as Astrid took aim while giving room for Soren to pass ahead, muttering as he prepared a spell.

Both sides reached the corner at the same time, as Titania had to slam her axe into the enemy's lance to block, which caused a small break in the metal, ending it's usefulness. Boyd was able to dodge the attack against him, which he responded to by charging in and slashing into the armor, which penetrated the enemy's defenses and wounded him. The attack was followed up by a blast of wind that sundered into the armor as the man stumbled back and fell.

Titania grabbed the large hammer attached to the saddle and swung into her enemy, whose lance glanced off of her armor, her blow collided as the man visible shook, forcing him to pull the lance back to defend himself. His defense was short lived as an arrow slammed into his neck between two armor plates. With that, he joined his companion on the floor, dead. The group stopped as they heard sounds of yells from the rear.

"Reinforcements must have seen out handy work. Gatrie, Titania, cover the rear while the rest of us move on ahead." Ike ordered as the clanking of armor started to wane as the group found themselves in the main room where another knight, three archers, one of which a had seasoned look to how he held his bow, three mages, and lastly a healer were baring down on the group.

Nephenee moved forward with Ike to cover the group as Boyd grabbed a hand axe while Astrid took position behind Ike as Soren and Mist waited for the initial clash before reacting. The knight took aim with his lance and connected with Ike's shoulder as his hissed in pain, the blow knocked his aim off as his swing went wild. Nephenee was having similar problems as two arrows struck her, grazing an arm and a leg on her left side, the last arrow embedded itself in her shield.

One of the mages started to chant a spell, but before finishing, Boyd's axe had connected, leave the man crippled from the waist down as Astrid's arrow finished the job. The other two were able to finish as a blast of lightning flew from above Ike, which he barely dodged, unfortunately, the other mage scorched him with fire magic. He grimaced and shifted to prepare an attack on the knight again. This time he was able to parry the lance swing as a blast of wind slammed in the knight, which gave him the opportunity to stab with his sword into one of the weak points in the armor. He noticed that Boyd and Astrid had dropped another mage while Nephenee had closed the distance with the sniper and with two quick stabs, dropped the bow-wielder.

Another blast of magic caught him, as his injuries prevented him from making the usually successful dodge. The knight again tried to hit Ike, who ducked down and swung up, his sword catching the knight in the joint at the knee, drawing more blood. Soren finished him off with another blast of wind, which sent the knight flying back a foot, as Ike felt his injuries starting to vanish, the bright blue light from Mist's staff glowing behind him. Looking over the enemy, he noticed the priest laying down his staff with his hands up. The injuries vanished as the sound of people running drew the mercenaries' attention. The last members of the group ran up with someone new, with a few cuts on Muarim's and Sothe's arms, the other three avoided taking any damage.

"Ike, this is Devdan, he was being held by Oliver as a slave, I figured it would be okay if he joined us, right?" Ike nodded before turning to the last enemy that was still willing to fight, a general carrying multiple spears.

Boyd pointed at himself and then Soren, before pointing at the general, Ike waved him forward as he grabbed Nephenee's attention, to prepare to cover them. Devdan handed Nephenee a spear designed to injure armored units before she joined Ike in covering them. It became unnecessary as Boyd successfully was able to provoke the enemy leader into making a poor throw which was swiftly followed by a magical blast that disabled the man before Boyd finished him of with a swing. Stefan and Muarim covered the rear from where Ike and company had arrived while Ike walked inside.

He hadn't been expecting to find the heron to be as abrasive as he was, and what genocide was he talking about? As he walked out, he found Titania and Gatrie back, neither sporting any injuries.

"Ike, where is the heron?" Titania wondered as she gave the commander a look over.

"He took off, mentioning something about a genocide, we need to see the Apostle, immediately." With that the mercenaries left the grounds, while Oliver had escaped, they had proof of Oliver's transgressions. As the group left the grounds, Ike found Astrid and asked,

"Do you know what genocide the heron was talking about?" Since the only other person he knew of from the group that might know was tending to her pegasus right now.

"Well, I heard that the Serenes forest was burnt down about 20 years ago. However, I do not know anything else about the event." She explained while fiddling with her hands. Soren walked over and added,

"If there is a lack of information, it points to Begnion having involvement and that they believe their action was incorrect. That fits with how they have handled other situations, if my reading of Begnion history is correct." Ike nodded as he concentrated on staying calm, as it wouldn't do to explode on the Apostle, though he had a feeling it wouldn't affect anything right now.

He ended up being right, as even though he interrupted the Apostle without announcing himself, they still learned the truth of the massacre. The former Apostle had been killed and the death was blamed on the herons. The stupidity of the masses came from the fact that the herons were physically unable to fight.

However, Ike soften a bit, as it was obvious from Sanaki's expressions that she was truly saddened by her people's actions, even if she had nothing to do with them. The group had spent the night working on gather supplies for the next day, the senator would not be able to rally his men fast enough to find the heron tonight. Titania was put in charge of making sure that all the mercenaries were prepared, not out trying to gamble or drink. Soren, bless his heart, willing volunteered to buy the supplies and armaments the group needed, preventing Aimee from attempting to convince Ike of going on a date with her.

Ike listened to Titania and relaxed in his room, after chasing his sister out who was bugging him about getting a new shirt, since his normal one had a hole. He was surprised to find a note, which gave him a chuckle, Volke had charged him 150 gold for opening the door and two chests. It seems he was still uncomfortable with being around others. His quiet was interrupted by a knock, he grumbled as he stood up and went to the door. As he opened the door, he was surprised to find one of the servants of a senator here. The man bowed before speaking,

"Excuse me, Ike, my master wishes to speak to you, are you free this evening?" Ike looked around before deciding that perhaps seeing if the man knew about Oliver's attempt at enslaving a heron might be worth a shot. Agreeing to the meeting, Ike paced to his sister's room and knocked. She opened the door and her eyes widened but stayed quiet.

"Mist, could you make some tea? One of the senators wishes to speak to me and I wish to show I'm not as ignorant as he thinks." Ike asked as he made a quick scan of the room, nope no one else was there, he wasn't interrupting anything.

"Sure, bring it to your room?" He nodded and muttered his thanks as he rushed back. Once he reached his room, he placed his swords next to his chair and moved his dirty shirt under the bed. At least the man couldn't complain about the state of the room and woe be him if he complained about the tea. Since it was the one thing Mist was better at than Oscar.

He sat still, which was becoming difficult with each minute passing by, after five minutes, fortunately for him, he heard a knock and went to open it. The older man with blonde hair and mustache let himself in as he glanced around the room, hmming to himself at the state of the not so perfectly made bed and the swords stacked behind the chair.

"Ah, yes, you are the leader of Elincia's mercenaries, Ike, correct? I am Senator Lekain, I do not believe we have been formally introduced."

"No we have not senator, it is an honor to meet you. I have sent for tea, it should be here shortly." Lekain looked surprised at the mercenary leader who was controlling his emotions. The last line came from a suggestion to Astrid during one of the dinners since if he needs to meet senators then at least he would have a decent opening line. Which for most of them would all he really needed to say.

Lekain's response was interrupted as Mist knocked and Ike opened it as she placed the cups down and poured. Ike mouthed thank you when Lekain could not notice as she excused herself. He started to tense as he drank some of the tea to cover his reaction.

"This tea is quite exquisite for a mercenary band, did you hire her just for cooking?" Lekain questioned as his eyes had watched her go, Ike had to control the urge to clench his fist, it wouldn't do to break the fancy cups that Astrid gave the mercenary camp so that Gatrie would not need to pay for her trip.

"No, she is my sister, and actually another of the mercenaries does the cooking and she learned from him." He responded while staring at the tea in fascination.

"I see, it seems that your band of mercenaries has grown in numbers, have you by chance recruited anyone interesting while in Begnion?" Lekain asked, his eyes locking on the other person's in the room.

"A sword knight that now owes us the money he used to owe his debtors and a swordsman of great strength, other than that, nothing else besides perhaps some weaponry received at fair value." He replied, not wanting to give away either the new freed man, Devdan, or Astrid, whose family might have the resources to attempt to force her back.

"Would I perchance know this swordsman?" Ike shook his head. "I see, would it be possible for me or one of my men to meet with your little band? I have heard a great many things about them and was wondering if they are interested in perhaps a less dangerous, but more lucrative lifestyle?" Lekain threw out as his grin became predatory.

"We will be busy, as the Apostle has asked us for a mission, though I will let my men know if they are interested to go inquire at your office I assume?" Ike added as kept his face neutral.

"I see, so what type of missions have you been going on for our Sacred Apostle?" Lekain pondered as he kept his gaze on the mercenary.

"She wished to see if Elincia's declaration of our skill was correct." He replied, his nerves started to run wild inside his mind. It also didn't help he was speaking much more formally than he preferred.

"I see, and your Princess gains favor from her in the process. Very well, I have wasted both our times long enough. I will see myself out." Lekain commented as he left the teacup and walked to the door. "One last question, where did you receive the tea set from?"

"One of my men wanted to repay me for allowing a favor and thus offered up the cup that was received as payment for a personal mission." Ike explained, Astrid had received it for a birthday gift, but her parents probably had others like them. The answer seemed to be acceptable to the senator who opened the door and left. Grabbing the cups, Ike left his room and returned them to the kitchen area.

Along the way, he ran into Soren, who was coming from the supply area.

"Ike, I just saw one of the senators leave. What did he want with us?" Soren followed him into the kitchen area as he found a place for the cups.

"He came by and asked if we had recruited anyone interesting, also, he wanted to talk to the rest of the group. Something seems off." He replied as they left.

"I do know that all of Makalov's debts have been paid off and it would be pointless for a senator to come when an advisor would be sufficient." Soren frowned before continuing, "While we are confirming the nobility of breaking the laws about laguz slaving, coming here himself when a subordinate would have been enough. Perhaps he expected that you would have appreciated the personally meeting. Though I think he was looking for someone, perhaps he owes the Damiell family a personal favor. I would suggest checking with Astrid about it, while the Apostle offered full support for Elincia's effort once we capture Oliver, it might be helpful not to become involved in a family dispute. He could delay supplies or extra troops we might need, if they must deliberate about it in the senate." Soren offered before walking back to his room.

Ike stewed on the words while preparing for bed. Either way, he should watch out for anyone spying on the mercenaries. He also would have to find time to talk to both Soren and Astrid, since either topic would not be good to mention in front of others.

* * *

There's chapter two, I hope you enjoyed it and if you feel called, please review.


	3. Herons and Titles

**A/N **Well, here the third chapter, and thanks to Exum and Grakjack72 for the reviews, and hopefully this time around the battles don't feel too rushed, though there should be a bit at some points, as those that have played the game know about chapter 17.

Anyways, I don't own Fire Emblem, otherwise there would be either a) news about a new game, or b) the japanese games would be translated for the virtual console.

* * *

The sky was once again cloudy over the forest, as if it was sad about what had happened here. The worst part for the mercenaries was the forest itself seemed to try to suck them in and not let them go. The only ones that seemed able to navigate the place with any ease were Lethe, Mordecai, and Soren. Speaking of his friend, he seemed to have finally come to terms with his personal problem, though he still had not told Ike about it yet. _I'll take what I can get._ Ike sighed as he looked over his group, Mist had convinced him with Astrid's help to get her a horse, which after she started training with it brought a bit of a relief to him. Now she would be able to escape easier and she was now also defending herself with a sword, at perhaps Mia's suggestion. Kieran was talking to Oscar, and in honor of their abilities, Titania suggested that the group bought the two more supplies for their horses. Kieran had been ecstatic at the news and Ike had to leave the poor cook listening to him explain how he would treasure this gift and that his cloak would always be without stains or holes. Ike shuddered to think about what Kieran would do with a gifted axe, he probably would keep it on a wall somewhere and not use it.

Speaking of horse riders, he needed to talk to Astrid about Lekain, and unfortunately for him, she always seemed busy. She had helped Mist with learning how to ride a horse and when he was going to talk to her afterwards, she suggested having Makalov help Mist with fighting on a horse, and that comment drove his original mission from his mind. Yesterday she had joined the other horse riders in their searching of the forest with Lethe and Mordecai. And when he tried to catch her at dinner, his trip to the mess hall was interrupted by a worn-out Rhys, since the poor healer always had problems walking back to his room after his training with Mia. It was good exercise for Rhys as long as he was able to fight the next day. He also seemed happier even if he claimed they were not getting anywhere. When he made it back to where the mercenaries ate, she was gone.

Ike sighed as he noticed Titania riding next to his sister and changed course. While Soren was the better tactician of the two, he was not the one to go to about people situations, to say it lightly. She was explaining to Mist something about riding as she was gesturing to her saddle, Ike walked up next to the two as she finished and Mist nodded before riding off.

"Hey, Astrid hasn't been avoiding me, has she?" He wondered as she narrowed her eyes at him.

"I haven't heard anything to that effect, why would you think that?"

"Soren did tell you about Senator Lekain coming by to talk to me?" She nodded as he gripped the pommel of his sword before continuing, "I think he came by to look for someone, and since I doubt he would come specifically for a debt." He turned to look around, and frowned upon remembering that Astrid joined Marcia in scouting ahead.

"And you're looking for advice for what to do." Titania smiled before continuing, "If I recall correctly, Soren told me that he came to ask for well-trained soldiers, obviously, we are just simple mercenaries that can't read between the lines. Do what you think is right. Remember, Elincia's already has Sanaki's help, so it is doubtful he'll have any effect." Ike smiled as he let go of his sword. "I'll let her know you want to talk to her, since for all you know, the Senator might have just wanted a look over our forces in general." He nodded as the paladin rode ahead. He took a deep breath as he tried to not let the dark, dreary forest get to him. _How does Soren always seem to know where he is? Only the laguz seem able to, then again, Stefan doesn't seem shaken by the forest either, but made living a desert helped with that._

OoOoO

The day had been another fruitless search, they were going to have to go deeper into the forest tomorrow. Marcia and Astrid were late, as Ike paced back and forth in front of the mercenaries quarters for the twenty-fifth time. While he knew how he was going to deal with the situation if Lekain was coming for Astrid, he was worried that the senator was looking over his forces. Since if one of the senators had slaves, it was probable more did as well. While he was mostly sure that no one in the mercenaries would sell out, someone in Oliver's forces may have been a spy for Lekain. _Perhaps Astrid would know more._ He started to pace again as he noticed Stefan walk up.

"Hello, Ike. Did you find our training helpful?" He questioned as he stood next to Ike.

"Yes, it was. I hope that someday I will be able to give you a fair spar." Ike commented as he continued his pacing.

"If you continue to push yourself as you have, then I will be able to have the honor soon." Stefan leaned against the wall as Ike pausing in his walking as he turned back. "If you feel too uncomfortable to answer, I won't mind, but are you and Soren good friends?"

"Of course, why do you ask?" Ike raised eyebrows as finished his own question.

"You haven't been talking to him as often, have you? He's been withdrawing, hasn't he?"

"Everyone has their days they need to be alone, but if you're the reason for this, you'll regret it." Stefan chuckled in response as Ike started to glare at him.

"I wonder if you can still say that later, though you do give me a bit of hope. However, the people you are waiting for have arrived. Thank you for the conversation, Ike."

"What do you mean-" Ike paused as the hoof-beats behind him stopped the question mid-sentence.

"Hey, handsome, I'm glad to see our commander is worried about us." The unspoken question about the heron answered as neither one was bearing a passenger.

"We almost ran into a squad of Oliver's axe knights as we returned, and presuming that you would have preferred us not to engage them, Marcia had to guide me around." Astrid debriefed as she bowed in Marcia's direction. She waved her off.

"Marcia, when you have a moment, explain to Soren where you were when you saw them." She nodded at the order as she then took her pegasus towards the stables.

"You two didn't get lost did you?"

"No, Commander."

"Astrid, I know Begnion probably started your training making sure you used the proper form of address for the higher ranked officers, but could you please call me just Ike." _First the Princess and now her._

"Actually, they did not, since everyone being trained was from the nobility." Ike shook his head. "However, I will try to follow your order." She bit her lip after finishing her explanation.

"It isn't an order, it is a request from a friend."

"That makes it even more pertinent that I do not fail in this endeavor."

"Can we just move on and discuss this later?" He responded while rubbing his forehead.

"Of course, I'm sorry. What is it that you wish to talk about?"

"One of the senators, Lekain, came by to ask if he could recruit from our group. However, due to the fact of the mission we are on, is it likely that he would know about our mission?"

"It is likely, though I would not expect the Senator to be willing to incriminate himself by doing anything that would interfere with the mission. The two senators seemed to have been on good terms." Astrid answered as she looked at the ground for a few seconds. He fiddled with his belt as he waited for her to continue. Her gaze left the ground as she let the silence continue.

"Is your father a friend of the Senator?"

"Yes, he is indeed."

"Is it possible that he would ask Senator Lekain to look for you?"

"I would believe it to be a more likely scenario as my parents were not happy with my decision."

"And thus they believe that a senator would intimidate you into coming home." She nodded as she bit her lip.

"Well, then that makes it good that he did not tell me his true reasoning for visiting, otherwise we won't be able to ignore it without sounding like a lie." Hey eyes widened as she froze freezing mid-step. "You're a part of the company, we're family, and no snobby senator will be allowed to threaten you. I promise." She smiled as her eyelids started to blink rapidly.

"Thank you, Commander." She continued her furious blinking as her grip slackened on the horse's reins.

"We better hurry otherwise none of Oscar's cooking will be left." They both picked up the pace as he sighed, it looks like it would be an uphill battle to get her to call him by name.

OoOoO

The day had started out the way the pervious ones did, with no signs of Oliver's men as the mercenaries began to search. The inevitable clash's framework was laid downr when Jill reported signs of soldiers to the north. Ike grimaced as he quickly rushed over to where Titania had gathered the rest of the mercenaries. After non-verbally gaining approval for a strike force of ten mercenaries from Soren, they rushed towards where Jill had seen the forces. As his sister stayed at his side, he was quite glad that she had learned how to ride. While he was not sure about only taking one healer, he did not feel up to leaving the squad behind without a healer. It was likely they could be attacked, though he knew the apostle would be safe unless the men were completely crazy. His teammates on the otherhand...

"Ike, we have arrived." Soren interrupted his thoughts as the group turned to look at him.

"Jill, Oscar, Kieran, Mist, Zihark, Mordecai, and Ilyana will start the engagement with the main group while Astrid, Soren and I deal with the archer and fighters on the left before returning to help out."

"Ha! Kieran, Commander of the Twelfth Royal Platoon will leave nothing left for the Commander to deal with!" The enthusiastic knight raced towards the men as Oscar was right behind him, taking aim with his new bow.

"Commander, quite a few enemies are carrying poison weapons." Jill added before having her wyvern take to the air.

"Then it's a good thing I bought anti-toxins." Mist remarked before following the others into battle. Ike drew his weapon as his small group took off.

He headed towards the archer, leaving the fighters for Astrid and Soren to pick off before getting close. He separated himself a bit from the two, as he did not want the archer's miss to accidently hit either one of his teammates. Before he could actually reach his enemy, the opponent released the nocked arrow. The arrow nicked his arm as he failed to completely dodge it as he continued on, though he started to feel a bit sluggish. Upon reaching his opponent, his swing land a blow as it drew blood across the chest with a follow-up swing slamming into the injured opponent, dropping him. Ike turned as he stumbled back from an ax swing that would have removed his head. He groaned as he his counter-swing was sloppy. Releasing his breath, he reversed his swing with a more steady grip, and this time it grazed flesh. The fighter snarled as he attempted to land a blow on Ike, who rolled back with his sword ready to parry.

However, his defense was not needed as he watched a bolt of lightning magic blast into his opponent, who flopped to the ground. Ike grimaced as the numbness shot through his body again, sapping a bit more strength and making him groggy.

"Commander. Use this." Astrid handed him an antitoxin which he snagged, removed the cap and began drinking it. He gagged on it as he gazed over the battlefield, a smile breaking out at the fact none of his teammates showed any injuries. They were finishing off the enemy commander, leaving the only enemies left were three myrmidon that had slipped behind them and heading quickly towards Ike's group.

"You better thank your sister for the medicine, she said that you would need it." Soren commented as he prepared another spell, Ike smiled as the numbness started to fade. The sound of a twang behind announced Astrid's attack as two rapid arrows flew by and struck down one of the myrmidon. Taking that as a signal, Ike positioned himself to draw the other two to attack him. Obliging him, they swung at him from both sides as he barely brought his weapon into position to block the extremely sharp blade the enemy was wielding. The other grazed his left arm as he back-pedaled from a more serious blow. The two pressed their attack as Ike kept his guard up as he assumed the 'holes' in their guard were attempts to leave him open to counter attack. He had also positioned himself poorly as Astrid would not shoot risking hitting him by accident.

Fortunately, Soren was confident enough to release a blast of lightning that caught one of the myrmidon, who faltered, leaving his teammate an easy target for a crippling strike from Ike. As the blow dropped one enemy, he heard the twang and the gurgle of the enemy.

"That is the last of the enemies for now, Ike." He nodded to the tactician as they started walking over to the rest of the group.

"Brother, you're hurt, why am I not surprised?" Mist admonished as she brought her staff over his wounds. He smiled as he glanced over the area, Nasir came out of the foliage nearby.

"Ike, it seems that perhaps you should call for reinforcements, since this didn't seem to be Oliver's main force."

"Good idea, call for Marcia and Nephenee then." He did not want to take too many forces away from the protecting the princess. He doubted that the two Holy Guards would allow the princess to come to harm, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Looking around the area, he realized they did not know where to go after this, until Mordecai mentioned the ruins to the northeast and a strange feeling. With that the mercenaries took off, with Nasir explaining about Seid magic and specifically galdr, which amazed Ike. The ability to make someone double their workload would be quite valuable. While his group continued onwards, the mud on his boots continued to accumulate.

OoOoO

"Ike, more of Oliver's men are ahead. Shall we engage or move past them?" Oscar questioned as he returned from his position as scout. "There is a significantly sized bog that will slow everyone but Jill and Marcia when she arrives."

"Ike, we do not want enemies at our rear when we reach our destination, the enemy is quite likely have at least another detachment in that area." Soren extrapolated as the sight of the enemy appeared in front of everyone. This is where Oliver's horsemen were starting to join the battle. Fortunately, everyone had received basic instruction in anti-cavalry tactics after hearing that Oliver's strongest forces were horse riders given to the mercenaries by one of Oliver's former men. Everyone that could use one were wielding a longsword, knight-killer, or poleaxe.

"Do you have the time to waste, Ike?" Nasir wondered.

"Soren's right, we do not have to engage all of the enemy forces, but just enough to cause the rest to retreat." Ike decided as he caught Kieran's attention and pointed at the first group of horse knights. Oscar sighed as he directed his horse to follow after his self-proclaimed rival. Nasir ducked into the forest again, Ike wished his sense of direction was better here, but at least Nasir would not be in danger.

"Be careful crossing the bog, Ike." Mist warned him as she followed after the transforming Mordecai and Astrid, who nodded as her horse galloped off.

"The rest of us, start moving through swamp, our reinforcements will be able to catch up. Jill, do not move too far ahead of the group." Her wyvern roared in response as she took to the sky. The two enemy soldiers started to charge the group, obviously not wanting to be in the swamp when the magic users attacked. Zihark and Ike took the lead, Jill flew to flank either of the enemy that did not fall in the first strikes. Ilyana and Soren followed closely behind, their chants ignored by their comrades as the distance between both sides vanished. Ike rammed his sword against his opponent's lance, barely keeping it from hitting his shoulder. Recovering faster, he swung back and connected as a grunt escaped from his opponent. He held back on his a continued assault as a burst of wind flew into his opponent, dropping him.

Ike turned to see Zihark tying his opponent up while Jill ran him through. The four started to push forward through the marsh, which was slow going, as the mages could not use magic to scatter the marsh like they could the sands. Ike glanced back over towards the other group. They were handling themselves adequately, Kieran and Oscar practicing using new weapons, Kieran with swords, and Oscar with a bow. Mordecai kept himself between any possible enemy and Mist, and lastly, Astrid seemed to be finishing off the wounded enemies that would not retreat.

"Hey, handsome, your sister's fine, worry about what is up ahead." Marcia's comment returned his attention back to crossing the marsh as Marcia dropped Nephenee across the marsh while Jill dropped off Zihark as they both of them came back to the group. "Carry Soren and Ilyana, I'll be fine." Soren nodded as Ilyana gleefully took Marcia's hand. Ike grimaced as he finally removed himself from the swamp. Glancing at his team, he grinned as he noticed that the rest of the group was heading over.

Nephenee and Zihark had finished off the last of the nearby forces. Once Nasir came back out of the trees, Ike passed the names of Brom and Gatrie as reinforcements, the group headed towards the ruins, and hopefully the heron.

OoOoO

The group had been quite surprised to run into another heron, who seemed to have been protected against the massacre some how. The shock was short-lived as Oliver appeared and noticed that the heron was not the same one. He brought in more forces to battle against the mercenaries. Carrying the heron, Ike knew he would get in the way and retreated to the north as Zihark, Nephenee, and Soren struck down the nearby enemies. His reprieve was interrupted as one of the mages took a lucky shot and almost caught his shirt on fire. Fortunately, the sleeping heron was unaffected. Marcia removed the problem before joining the front lines, leaving no enemy in his vicinity.

He grimaced as he watched his forces form a wall blocking the advance of the enemy, this group had a much larger force than the last two. Kieran, Jill, and Oscar, had pulled ahead to take a few throws with javelins or hand axes before retreating back to where Nephenee and Mordecai were prepared to lash out at the approaching enemy. Soren and Ilyana would blast the foes that would attempt to flank either defenders, with Mist darting around healing, her usual target being Kieran. Astrid moved to be near him, while occasionally darting forward to shoot at an approaching enemy before returning to block the way towards him.

"Soren wanted to have someone cover you in case an enemy gets lucky, since you aren't at your best right now."

"Thanks." He smiled as he watched his team keep in formation, the hit and run tactics maddening the enemy while Mordecai and Nephenee prevented any of the enemies from getting at the magic users.

His attention jumped to his right, as he noticed two mages breaking out of the bushes, their tomes at the ready barring down at him. "Astrid." She responded by taking aim and firing at the approaching foes as Ike shifted the heron so that she would not get hurt. The two mages reached the two before Astrid could drop either one. They both finished their chants as wind flew at him, he side-stepped left, avoiding the first but the second seemed to have predicted the dodge and the magic slammed into him, knocking the breath out of him. He grimaced as he shifted his feet to take a swing at his opponent, willing himself closer. Pushing against the ground, he lunged at his opponent, and as the opponent finished muttering the spell, chopped with his sword. The blow dropped the mage as he took a deep breath upon hearing the gurgle from the other mage.

"Sorry, Commander, I should have been able to stop them earlier." Astrid apologized as she started to fish out a vulnerary that she handed to him.

"More are coming, at least three more knights." While stepping back he used the vulnerary, feeling the pain from the wound dulling. Comparing how close they were to the foliage, he realized that there would not be enough time for Astrid to shoot them down before getting past her. Glancing back at the group, he noticed that Zihark was running over, the others too far away to be helpful. _How did they get behind us? _Ike dropped the steel sword for his worn Regal Sword, with Astrid positioning her horse in front of him. He knew that she would have to move shortly, otherwise she would be a sitting duck.

"Commander, you know you are supposed to protect such a beautiful lady as the fair Astrid, not hide behind her." He let out a breath he had not noticed that he was holding. Gatrie appeared from his right, panting heavily, though his knight killer was pointed at where the enemy was going to be approaching from. "Lady Astrid, would you perhaps like a lance to use today?"

"No thanks, I prefer to use a bow for now." Brom also charged out of the foliage, seeming to have followed Gatrie, with a javelin at the ready. When the first horse rider broke out of the bushes, he quickly found himself losing his grip on his weapon as a javelin connected with his armor before being impaled on Gatrie's lance.

Astrid released the arrow she had nocked before her horse had to move since the dead rider's horse kept charging. Ike quickly moved the other way, dodging the other way, as Gatrie attempted to block off another rider, while Zihark had enough time to reach the wounded knight and finish him off.

Gatrie had underestimated the rider, who avoided his swing, rode past him, and galloped at Ike. The soldier reached out with his lance, and barely landed a decent blow into Ike's shoulder. A groan of pain escaped his lips as he stumbled back, the worry for the heron preventing him from counterattacking. The knight turned to charge him down again when another arrow pierced his right hand, forcing him to drop his weapon as Zihark charged and slammed him off of his saddle, then his second swing killed the man. Smiling at his men he saw Soren rushing over, the worry actually visible for others to see.

"Commander, I apologize for not making it earlier, we found the rest of the group's attachment and since they were heading in the same direction, I believed that it would have been better to remove them before they could link up." Gatrie explained as he kept scanning the bushes for movement.

"They were a doozy, Ike." Brom added as Soren finally reached the group.

"Ike, you should have stayed closer, if they had been more competent, Zihark wouldn't have been able to come help." Soren scowled as he pulled out a heal staff, Ike raised an eyebrow. "Mist and Rhys have been teaching Ilyana and I, for situations like this." He smiled as his friend ran the staff over his wounds.

After finishing the healing, Oliver came out of the forest and declared that they were leaving the heron alone since there was another one. Giving his group a look over to see that none were sporting any damaging injuries, he gave the order to follow. Once Nasir reappeared, he asked for Mia and Rolf. As they walked along, Soren was discussing something with Nasir and Astrid was on Ike's other side, with Gatrie attempting to keep her attention on him. Shifting, the heron to his other shoulder, he asked,

"So, Astrid, you have been practicing with a lance as a secondary weapon?"

"Yes, Gatrie has been an excellent teacher in the use of a lance." Astrid smiled as she glanced at her sometimes teacher.

"Your sweet words brighten this dismal forest, Astrid." Gatrie pronounced as Ike sighed.

"However, Commander, I was thinking about asking Titania for help."

"Fighting on the ground is much different than on horseback, and Gatrie would agree that she is the best teacher overall here." _Stefan might teach swordsmanship better, than any of the horse knights, however._

"Actually, I was thinking about using an axe, after all, swords are weak against lances and lances are weak against axes, I'll be better able to aid you on the battlefield." She explained as Gatrie started to gape like a fish.

"Thanks, Astrid, I would really appreciate it."

"Also, it would help with the distributions of weapons, as we have a plethora of lance users but at most four wielders of axes." Soren added as Gatrie slumped his shoulders. Ike chuckled and Astrid smiled as the group continued on towards where Oliver was.

OoOoO

The mercenaries found the Senator with the last of his defenders and after an attempt to get the Senator to surrender, the group started a charge at the enemy. Yet again, Nasir found himself scarce, while Ike stayed back with Gatrie, Brom, and Soren, as his tactician did not want a sneak attack catching him again.

Grumbling but moving out of the possible range of the enemy, he kept his eyes on the group, fortunately, Mist and Ilyana were not overwhelmed by teammates having wounds that needed to be healed. The group had to slow their movement because of a group of knights and generals using the bog to stop the enemy. However, three hawk laguz and the other heron stormed out of the forest and struck at their rear.

"Hey, boss, where are we needed?" Mia chirped, drawing his attention as he noticed that more of Oliver's horsemen bursting out of the foilage. Mia rushed at the incoming enemies.

"Rolf, Soren, stay back with me and add cover fire, Gatrie, Brom join Mia in intercepting before they can attempt to grab the heron." Ike ordered as the two clanged after the swordswoman.

Seeing one of the enemies gallop past the two knights, Ike charged, not wanting to give the enemy time to aim. Before reaching striking range, he saw one of Rolf's arrows strike the enemies armor, unbalancing the rider. Taking advantage of it, Ike slashed quickly with his nearly broken sword, the strike hitting just right, and the blow forced the rider off of his horse. His teammates finished off their opponents, with Mia being the only one to show signs of injuries, with a line of blood on her left arm. Looking back to the brush, he noticed more signs of movement.

Silently grabbing Mia and Rolf's attention, he directed them to hide behind two of the larger trees. Soren stood behind his commander as Brom and Gatrie flanked him, making it even harder for the possible enemy to see Soren.

The three enemies rushed out and decisively targeted Ike as the two knights stood in front of their commander. The rear knight found himself dehorsed as Mia's longsword slammed into his chest followed shortly by an arrow to the neck. Gatrie and Brom's knight killers found their targets, with Gatrie dropping his target, but Brom's still kept his grip on weapon and horse. His ride was quickly finished off by Soren's blast of wind, ending his misery. The sound of beating wings grabbed Ike's attention as he turned to his left, and the sight of a white pegasus diving at him forced him to jump back. The enemy missed and before she could attempt a second attempt, Rolf's buried an arrow in the mount, dropping both of them to the ground. As the rider attempt to stab Ike, he blocked and slashed, finishing her.

"Hey, Ike, one of knights dropped an undamaged armorslayer." Rolf commented as he brought the weapon over.

"That would have been useful for our forces before they dealt with the knights." Soren added. "However, it seems that our forces have defeated Oliver." Looking over the enemies, who started dropping their weapons, released a breath of relief from Ike. Now he just needed to talk to the other heron, since he still needed to complete his mission for the Apostle.

OoOoO

Ike smiled as he thought back to what had just happened. For once he did not get everyone into trouble for his words and was able to help the Apostle make peace with the herons. Afterwards, being able to see the wondrous sight of the herons singing the forest back to life was a wonderful reward. Now he just had to make sure that the Apostle kept up her side of the bargain. He smiled at the praise given and was glad to hear that the Apostle was going to do more than just free the slaves.

Believing his part was done, he started to slip away quietly as to not disturb the two rulers when, "Hold! Your presence is still required." Sanaki demanded as Ike bit his lip as stared at the 10 year old. "Heed me, Ike, if you are to help lead the Crimean Liberation Army, you must be given a more appropriate title." Ike wanted to decline before remembering the talks with Astrid, how much emphasis Begnion put on titles. Taking a deep breath, he responded,

"I see. What do I have to do to be made a noble, start wearing a funny hat?"

"I'm surprised, I expected you to be shouting your complaints about this." Sanaki remarked.

"I learned how hung up on titles Begnion is, and thus for the Princess's sake, I do this." He countered before looking to Elincia, as there was no way he was going to become a Begnion noble.

"First, you must dress to fit your new position." Sanaki commanded as Sigrun escorted him to a nearby room where an outfit was laid out for him.

"One of the servants will take the clothes back your group." He nodded as Sigrun closed the door for him. If it was not for the fact that Elincia would lose troops, Ike would have snuck out the other door without changing. After changing clothes, he walked back and stood in front of Elincia. He felt like a buffoon, fortunately it should only be temporary, and no one in the room commented on it.

"Um, will you...lend me your sword? Thank you. Now, may I ask you...to kneel before me?" Ike rolled his eyes as he knelt in front of the princess. "Th-thank you. All right... Let me begin. In the name of House Crimea, I hereby grant you the title and rank of lord and all the honors it conveys. Rise, Lord Ike." He stood and recovered his sword.

"You're new rank suits you." Sanaki declared with a smile.

"I agree." Sigrun smiled after her comment.

"Thanks, Lord Ike." Elincia added. _Blast, now I don't have a reason for her to stop._ Nodding to the Princess, he walked out, before Sanaki attempted to force him to do something else that was related to being a noble. He will just have to change before anyone else saw him. His luck seemed to have not changed as he saw Astrid standing in front of his door. She smiled at his approach.

"Go ahead and laugh, I had to dress the part of being a snobby noble."

"Actually, Commander, it looks good on you. And also, I was here to let you know that Titania will be helping me with learning how to use an axe."

"I'm not surprised, you'll do great, Astrid. Also, I can understand you calling me Commander on the field of battle, but can you please call me by name when we are not fighting."

"Sorry, C-Ike, though it should be General now?"

"Yes, Astrid, however, I would like my friends to not be so distant. Unless we're not friends?" He explained as he scratched his head.

"No, of course we are, I am sorry, Ike. I will try to call you by name on the battlefield as well." Astrid bit her lip while staring at his new outfit.

"Well, it's a good start. Want to go see if Oscar or Mist has something to eat?" _I better get use to wearing this outfit._

"That would be wonderful." With that the two walked towards the mess area, a smile on both their faces.

* * *

**A/N **For those wondering why Soren didn't heal Ike after the first part, he didn't have a staff out, and Mist was coming over with hers, but it wouldn't be something Ike would think about. And Ike and Astrid start to show a bit more than just friendship, but since Ike hasn't really interacted with non-employers or non-family members females for more than a bit at a time, he's not exactly sure how to react. Hopefully that comes across well. Let me know how the chapter went, and thank you for reading.


	4. War and Family

**A/N **Well, sorry about the lateness of the story, though I should have a bit more time now that it is summer and I only have a few weeks of classes left. I'll to thank everyone for continuing with this story, and a special thanks to StrikeFreedomV2, NinjaSheik, blblblblbl, and TheLoveBrigade.

I still don't own the game, rats.

* * *

Ike sighed as the Princess's new army marched toward the Daein border and Ashnard. He already had to give a speech as a noble, and he had seen Sanaki smirking during it, at least none of the soldiers saw her in the back. He had successful hidden the fact he was disgruntled, and the soldiers seemed to agree to following his orders. His tense marching loosened upon Soren slowing his stride to meet him.

"Ike, this is going to be difficult with the size of our forces, one regiment is not going to be enough against the Daein army."

"Well, they should still have quite a bit of forces in Crimea, just to hold it. And if Ashnard is planning to invade Gallia is true, he'll need his forces in position to strike quickly. Besides we have the best strategist in Tellius." Soren nodded as Ike took a look around before asking, "Where's Titania? I've haven't seen her these last couple of days."

"She is helping Astrid learn how to properly use an axe. I also believe that Astrid did not want to be seen by any of the higher ranked Begnion forces."

"Well that is good news, as we could use another person with an axe. As almost all of the Begnion forces using either lances or bows, the mercenaries make up the core of the axe division."

"I would hesitate to even call it a division. However, Ike, if the normal garrison of troops is stationed at the wall, I already have a battle plan for your approval." Soren explained as he handed over a couple of pieces of paper bound at the top. Ike chuckled as he started to read it over and summarized it in his head.

_One of the closest ways to pass into Daein is at Tor Garen. However, it is also rumored to be impenetrable, which is why it makes a perfect target. The forces there will be expecting an easy victory. The one weak point is the wyvern rider reinforcements that are stationed nearby to trap and finish off attacking enemy forces. The bulk of the Begnion regulars and most of our group will engage them there while a strike force hits the actual location. When we defeat them, it will also be a morale blow for the nearby Daein forces. This will also ensure that the likelihood of rear attacks is greatly diminished._

"Looks good to me. I assume that you're going to suggest that Titania leads the main force?" He mentioned while returning the plans. Soren nodded before walking off again as Ike grimaced. _What's bothering him? It had to be something he learned in Begnion, but I know he hasn't told anyone else._

His thoughts were interrupted as one of the soldiers hurried over, asking about who Tanith's pegasus knights were supposed to listen to. _Just great, knowing my luck, I'll have to order everyone else to march, even when it is obvious._

Ike slumped into his cot in his new tent, while it was more comfortable than what he had before, he just wished that he was able to put up his own tent, was that too much to ask? "Brother, can I come in?"

"Of course." He smiled as Mist hurried inside, her new sword in her scabbard, and she rushed him into a huge hug.

"I can't believe you actually got the merchants to make such a sharp sword for me. I thought you wouldn't let me fight again." He patted her back as he was pretty sure that she might have started shedding a tear or two.

"It's dangerous for our healers to fight unarmed and if you are going to fight, then I have to make sure you have the best protection possible."

"You're going to have Titania ride next to me at all times, aren't you?" He chuckled as she pulled away with a fake pout.

"What did Mia say about your sword-fighting?" He wondered as he started ruffling her hair, which made her mock pout even more.

"That she's willing to let me fight on the battlefield with a sword and I can tell people that she taught me how to fight, though she did ask me to convince Rhys to ride a horse as well." He raised an eyebrow as she started to giggle. "I think she _likes_ him, which is funny as Father probably hired her to help _you_ talk to _girls_." This statement caused his eyes to bulge.

She took off out of the tent as he recovered his bearings before quickly giving chase. As she turned left at the first tent, he had an idea of where she was going, and he was not going to try to catch someone on horseback, so he had to stop her now. Unfortunately for the newly made noble, his path was intercepting Kieran's. A collision was barely avoided, as Kieran's fighting instincts did not seem to dull in camp at all as both suddenly halted their momentum.

"General Ike, I must thank you for testing my reflexes, have they proven to be satisfactory?" He wondered as he stood at attention, which also made it so Ike had to either push him out of the way or wait until he moved.

"Yes, Kieran they are satisfactory, is Oscar the cook tonight?" At that question, the man hunched his shoulders as he glared past the general. "Thank you for the information, Kieran, make sure to get enough rest for the battle tomorrow." At that the red-armored knight nodded and after saluting marched to his tent.

Ike sighed as he decided to head to the mercenaries' kitchen as he shrugged in his outfit. The worst news to come about it was the fact he had multiple versions of this particular outfit made for him. His sister probably had something to do with this, saying he did not understand that he had to look the part of a noble now. At least it looked good on him, supposedly.

His poor humor rapidly improved as he pushed back the tent flap and very familiar aromas assaulted his nose. His gaze quickly found Oscar above a very large pot where he was slowly adding a few spices. He smiled and walked over to get a better look.

"Ike, just like I tell Boyd, no sampling until it's on the table." Ike chuckled as he found a seat.

"I am surprised the rest of the mercenaries aren't waiting in line for the food." He commented.

"Well, the Begnion troops already have their food being served, so I suspect most are there." Oscar explained as Ike fiddled with his uniform edge again. The two were quickly joined by one of the two newly promoted Knights, Brom. Ike smiled as he noticed that Brom did not notice him. "Are you here for the usual double order?" Oscar asked as he faced him, while Ike narrowed his eyes.

"Wait, you mean when I wanted more food I could have ordered it?" He complained.

"Sorry, General, I must have been plowing the fields when I walked in. I apologize for not noticing you." Ike waved him off, though he kept his gaze on the cook. "Yes, Oscar, I would be happier than a pig in an orchard if you could do that. General, I'm grabbing food for Nephenee as well."

"And why doesn't she come here and eat as well, not enough people?" Ike turned to the stout man as he wondered.

"Well, that's not quite it I'm afraid."

"So where do you two usually eat then?" He wondered as he let go of his 'costume.'

"Usually wherever the ground is soft, General."

"The food isn't ready, yet, right Oscar?" He noticed out of his peripheral the cook's head nod. "Why don't you go find her and have her come here? Don't worry, I'm not going to give you two extra duties if you don't come." Brom smiled as he nodded and walked back out.

"Do you think she is feeling uncomfortable with the rest of the group? This might be something I should let Titania know about." Ike posed as Oscar chuckled.

"Perhaps it could be that she does not like eating with Boyd and Rolf always arguing at the table." Oscar turned his gaze back to the steaming pot.

"So, have you three figured out that secret you were working on while ago we were at sea?" Oscar paused in his stirring as he looked up.

"Actually, I need to see someone about it, but it soon should be ready." He smiled as Ike chuckled as he moved to where the bowls were and started setting out six. The tent flap opened as Brom and Nephenee walked in, the latter gluing her gaze to the floor. Oscar motioned for everyone to grab a bowl as Ike naturally was first. _Of course if I had waited, Brom may have waited for me to grab my food anyways._ Brom and Nephenee followed behind as he noticed that Brom chose a seat that she would have to sit next to Ike as well, or sit away from both of them. When she took the seat, he noticed that Brom smile grew a little bit, as Ike shook his head.

"Thank you for inviting us General." Brom stated before starting on the food.

"You should be thanking Oscar for the incredible meal." He explained as Oscar smiled as he sat on the other side of Ike.

"Thank you Oscar." Brom nudged Nephenee who was staring at the spoon in her hand, which she promptly dropped into the bowl.

"Thank ya, kindly." She slowly enunciated as she picked up the spoon and started to methodically eat the soup. There was a long silence as both Oscar and Ike continued to glance at the tent, it seemed that Soren and Titania must not have needed nourishment at the time. Brom would occasionally say something about their travels, as Ike finally caught on to the fact he was trying to get Nephenee to talk. While he could understand why Brom was doing it, he remembered how Soren did better without feeling like he had to talk while eating with the rest of the mercenaries.

Dinner ended as both Ike and Brom stayed after finishing while Nephenee continued to keep her slow but steady rate of eating, which got much slower when Ike looked in her direction. Oscar after finishing kept himself busy by cleaning up all the extra materials not used as he seemed disgruntled about the amount of food left. Glancing back and noticing Nephenee had finished, Ike spoke,

"Nephenee, don't worry about being formal because I'm the general, as meals like this are one of the few times I can relax."

"I… see… General. Excuse me." With that she left her bowl on the table and marched out of the tent.

"Thank you, kindly General, I greatly appreciate it." Brom saluted and walked out as Ike groaned.

"At least I don't have to wear a floppy hat." He looked around the tent one last time and headed towards the door. "If I see any of the other mercenaries, I'll let them know that you have left-overs. Unless you're willing to let me have seconds?"

"Come back in an hour, and if I do, sure." Ike's leaving was followed by a chuckle as he quickly marched towards his tent.

A scowl took over his face at the sight of the two men that the Begnion troops had stationed in front of his tent as they saluted as he walked in. He was greeted by the sight of a table that had both Titania and Soren flanking it, with the papers on it an organized mess.

"Oh, there you two are," Ike commented as Soren gave him a quick glance before returning to the table.

"Sorry, Ike, the Begnion troops were not exactly thrilled to hear our battle plans. Especially since we didn't have any of them with the strike force. After an hour of pointless arguments, I assume you are fine with having Tanith joining the strike force?" Ike nodded as his scowl erased itself from his face. Soren picked up one sheet of paper and handed it over. Ike looked down and noticed the names were all from their mercenaries, except for Tanith.

"Well, this force definitely has the power to strike while they are in the base, though why only one paladin in this group? I am thinking that Rolf might be useful as well, unless the main force can keep the wyvern camp completely pinned down. Especially since they may have a few wyverns at the wall as well." He returned it as Soren nodded while Titania smiled. "Lastly, Oscar has left-overs, you two better grab some before Boyd or Gatrie find out." The red-haired knight chuckled as she walked out, while Soren dropped the roster and crept out, avoiding eye-contact with his best friend. Ike sighed as he started to put the plans away, while it took him longer than his staff officers to do, if they put up with the other nobles for over an hour after he left, they deserved a break.

His silent work was interrupted by a knock on one of the wooden shafts that held the tent up.

"Hey, handsome, mind if I ask a favor?"

"Yes, what is it?" Ike looked up to see his preferred pink-haired soldier, as she hadn't tried to shrink on her duties yet.

"I ask Titania and she said that we're attacking two different areas, with the Begnion main force split from the mercenaries. Can I fight with mercenaries instead?" Marcia asked as she leaned against the corner.

"Still have trouble with your former teammates?" She nodded as he ducked down and dug out the forces information. "Actually, yes, you will be assigned to work with the mercenaries." _Besides, Nephenee seems comfortable around Brom, so that should help her a bit._

"Thanks, handsome, I'll see you later." With a wave, Marcia walked out as Ike paused at her comment. _You know, Oscar commented that Kieran and her were getting along well, but then she says stuff like that. Mist is right, I'm not exactly practiced with the whole talking to women. I'll ask Titania later about it._ Leaving the confusing thoughts of women behind him, he shuffled into one of his normal outfits, swung his cloak around him and crashed.

OoOoO

Ike had been up earlier than usual, though fortunately he had found someone to spar with, who was now standing across from him with a strange grin. He had been silent when he was first found today, but now…

"Are you going to attack, Ike? You rarely hesitated this much before." Ike decided that the man may get bored enough to leave, and thus took the offer and charged with a swing. After a couple of swing and blocks, he finally decided he had enough of the man's smirk.

"Do you know what is bothering Soren?" As he suspected this was why the man was smirking.

"Perhaps, but it is not my place to tell even if I did." Stefan swung to push him back. "Though, the question is, if he believes it to be so worrisome that he cannot let his best friend know?" He noticed that Stefan was expecting another blow from below.

"What could it be, he's the son of Ashnard? It doesn't matter, he's still my friend." With that declaration, he threw his sword into the air, jumped after it, and slammed it at his opponent. Stefan hopped out of range of the swing and prepared to back pedal as Ike rocketed back up with a swing, barely missing the man.

"Impressive, Ike. And I do hope you keep your resolve." Stefan dropped the sword and walked off, giving him the victory. Ike walked over and picked up it, Soren would scold them for wasting still usable weapons as he headed towards his commander's tent, where Titania and Soren would be waiting.

Ike grimaced as he marched ahead with his forces, both Titania and Soren had determined that it would be better if they lead the Begnion forces, since their normal forces were lead by some noble's son that had never been in a real battle before. They had just reached the outer walls, and it seemed a good thing that only two horseriders, Oscar and Astrid, were with the strike force. It seems that there was better reason that he had thought. Which meant that he was probably going to have them stay back because…

"My lord Ike. Is everything prepared?" Elincia interrupted his thoughts as she moved next to him.

"Yes, the joint attacks should keep the reinforcements here to a minimum, please stay back with the remaining of the forces. We shall be fine."

"Of course."

"All right, let's-" he paused as he heard the flapping of wings behind the squad that were very distinct compared to wyvern's or pegasus's wings. Turning to the noise, he nodded to five fliers.

"Ah, Ike! Well met. It appears that you're getting ready for your first battle as Crimea's army."

"Yes, weren't you escorting the herons back to Phoenicis?" He questioned as he gave the group a look over.

"That was the original plan, but... Someone here insisted that we follow you. Quite unreasonably, I might add." Tibarn remarked with a grin, to take out any sting from the comment.

"You treated us with courtesy, beorc, we must return it, isn't that correct, Leanne?" The heron prince commented while his sister spoke back, in the ancient tongue, leaving almost everyone else bewildered.

"Thank you, Reyson. Though a battlefield is not time to discuss courtesy."

"No, I wish to repay the debt I owe because of this courtesy, we herons hold it in the highest regard. I wish to fight with you." Ike bit back his first remark, as the heron had mostly like thought about staying with his sister and they must have agreed.

"Very well, we would be glad to have you and I will ensure your safety to see your sister again." Tibarn's grin grew even larger.

"I swear upon the honor of my clan that I will not let you down." Reyson returned.

"Good, now that it is decided on, I shall aid you as well, Janaff, Ulki, you will join them and protect Reyson."

"Thank you, King Tibarn, you are quite generous. We appreciate the extra manpower." Ike answered and he noticed that Reyson was about to speak before he interrupted.

"Ike, I will take you at your word. Your actions have created a bond of trust between yourselves and the hawk and heron clans. If you find yourself in a dire position, you can call on me. No matter what, I will fly to your aid." With that, he and Leanne left.

"Ulki, Janaff, you will be ensuring that Reyson will be able to aid whoever he chooses, is that acceptable?"

"Of course, they don't call us the King's eyes and ears for nothing." Janaff crowed.

"Elincia, please return to the base camp. Oscar, escort her there." The green armored paladin nodded as he followed after the princess.

With his forces in position, he called for the attack to begin, and hopefully the enemy had not had enough time to fully prepare. With that he charged as well, being one of the first making it to the steps. The group of enemies, mostly soldiers with their squad leader seemed ready. As he reached the man, he threw his sword in the air, and before the enemy's lance could touch him, he leapt to his sword, and quickly fell upon the enemy. The first blow destroyed any attempt the man may have made at defense as Ike burst straight up with his blade killing the man as he turned to see Sothe slipped past everyone, with Tormod, who had stayed after getting the Empress's guarantee that all possible slaves would be freed, following close behind.

Turning forward to the front of the battle, he pressed on, with Boyd flanking him on the side, grinning. As they continued on, a blast of lightning slammed in front of him, forcing him to jumpl back. He noticed that both of the hawks had retreated as well, unwilling to risk the dangerous magic. They also kept Reyson from moving forward, much to the heron's annoyance.

"Rolf! Wait until that fire mage gets here." Boyd yelled while Ike kept looking, however the youngest of the three had charged ahead, with his younger older brother rushing behind him. Sighing at the two, he quickly verified that Mist was catching up as he followed after them. As they rounded the corner, the blast of magic struck again. As he attempted to dive out of the way, the lightning clipped his shoulder, causing it to lock up as the pain jolted down his body. Looking over the field of battle, he could see one of the hawks fly down quickly.

"The enemy forces are being supported by the ravens, General."

"Understood, make sure that they don't get past our front lines." The hawk nodded as he flew up again. While this happened, he felt the familiar comfort of healing magic pass through his arm. Seeing the hawk charge ahead meant that either Boyd or Rolf had taken down the mage, he charged forward. It seems that Stefan had also slipped past him after the initial strike. What had really surprised him was seeing Shinon talking to Rolf. Rolf was crying as his hands started shaking, which had been missing from the boy after fighting the ravens in the southern sea. _Father saw something in Shinon and he's important to Rolf, there is no way I'm letting Rolf suffer by fighting him._

He rushed forward catching Shinon's glance, who quickly turned toward him, stringing an arrow, while Ike motioned to Rolf towards one of the approaching enemy soldiers.

"Heh. I always knew it would come to this, Ike." The gloating that always there no longer entwined with his words.

"Shinon…"

"Watch yourself!" Shinon released the arrow, as Ike dodged towards him, he noticed how the arrow should have been aimed better. Sure it would have dropped him before Shinon left the group, but he should have know that Ike had gotten better. Hoping he understood the man better than Shinon claimed he did, he took the opportunity and landed two quick slashes across the chest. His opponent attempted to pull back, but all it did was prevent the blows from being fatal, which caused Ike to smile.

"Curses…" Noticing how Shinon was talking with Rolf, Ike guessed,

"Don't move. You'll tear the wound open. How do you think Rolf will feel with you dead?" Shinon tsked at that but stayed still. As Ike pushed forward, the smile on his lips unnerved the next enemy he ran into, giving him time to chuck his sword into the air and slam down on the knight, and quickly slashed back up, catching the enemy inside his guard, dropping him.

The charging enemy horse riders caught his attention as he heard Gatrie clanking into position with a Knight Killer prepped for the enemies attack. Once the enemy was close enough to hit, the man swung down at Ike, who rolled and stabbed at the horse. The blow hit just right and dropped the horse, which caused the rider to fall and be crushed by the weight. However, he had to give up his Regal Sword as it would take too much effort to wretch it out of the horse's body. Drawing the other weapon he brought with him, he saw Sothe run towards him as Gatrie continued on, the Knight Killer was not lodged as his sword was.

"Commander, I was sent to tell you that the front line has been taken care off. One of the hawks says he heard enemy horsemen from the rear. Also, all of the treasure has been recovered." With a nod he started to run back, as he heard Boyd announcing his presence.

"Hey, Ike, I better come with you in case there are more lance knights to give you trouble." He nodded as the two rushed back toward the entrance of the wall. _Sothe didn't say anything about the hawk hearing any of our team being injured._

The two rounded the corner to see Tanith standing at the ready with her Sonic Sword drawn. Upon seeing him, she stood at attention and announced, "General, we received word from our other forces, they took care of the wvyern base with few causalities. Also, we eliminated the enemy reinforcements."

He waved her off as he noticed the messenger from the main Begnion forces heading over, as he sighed before answering his questions. He had taken a quick glance and noticed that Marcia was avoiding Tanith while Astrid walked up and asked the pegasus knight for her next orders. Returning to the messenger, he finished his answers.

However, before he could talk to Astrid, he had to deal with Shinon who wanted a rematch. Fortunately for the group, the fight went similar to how the battle earlier went, except this time Ike had an arrow sticking out of his arm that Mist complained about healing. It was worth it to see Rolf beaming at the man though.

OoOoO

Their forces were camping at the wall tonight, while it was the best to repel enemies from the Begnion side, it would allow them the ability to avoid the elements, as it had started to rain. He shook his cloak out as he watched Rolf show Shinon his improvement with the bow. Perhaps he now knew who taught the boy, though he would never ask the man, it was not worth the argument. Turning around to leave, he smiled as he nearly ran into Astrid.

"I am terribly sorry about that Ike, I expected only Oscar to be here." She fiddled with her partially strung bow. "I guess he does not need anymore help."

"No, and we should probably leave those two alone for now. Shinon would get haughty and it would ruin the moment." Ike explained as he motioned for them to leave. "Tanith did not question you or ask for you to return to Begnion did she?"

"No. I also doubt someone working for the apostle would be helping the senator, the two are at odds according to what my father has said to a few of his guests."

"That's good to hear. So, feel more comfortable using an axe now?" She nodded as they continued towards the stables. He watched her as they walked, noticing her pace continually decreased while they walked. "You're not pushing yourself too hard are you?"

"Sorry, Ike, it has been a bit difficult for me to adjust, I am getting worn out too quickly, and I have been having difficulties sleeping." She explained as she stumbled into sitting on the nearby stool.

"Mist makes some tea that should help with that, would you like me to get you some?"

"Ike, that's too much, you should be resting as the General of the army!" She pleaded with a weak hand failing at grabbing his arm.

"Don't worry, besides this gives me time away from having to hear from the great son of Duke Culbert his version of the battle, where he heroically saved the day after Soren and Titania made a blunder that was more likely what he actually wanted to do. I'm quite glad you're not like him, Astrid." Ike added while walking out to find his sister.

He smiled upon catching her making a batch as he wondered, "Mist, do you mind if I steal a cup of this?"

"Oh, are you having nightmares of being a noble?" She patted his arm with a grin.

"Yeah, something like that. So is the other cup for Jill?" Ike adjusted his cape while questioning. She nodded while handing him the cup that Astrid had given the group full of the delicious tea.

"Aren't you going to drink that here?" She wondered as he started to walk out.

"And fall asleep here to be found by some Begnion guards that are horrified that I was not in my room, no thanks." He waved in thanks as he returned to the stables.

He shook his head at seeing Astrid brushing her horse. Seeing the extra-long pauses in between her brush strokes reminded him of the fact she had not been a soldier for very long. _Though it is admirable how far she is willing to go, and when she's concentrating like this, she definitely cute. _Walking up to her, he announced his presence with,

"I'll take care of that, I have the tea right here."

"But, Ike-"

"That's an order." He remembered how his father had to command Soren to eat sometimes because of how absorbed he was while studying. She nodded as she sat down, the horse eyed him as he moved closer, but once the brushing started, went back to munch on the horse-feed.

"Please tell your sister that this is a delightful tea." He nodded while letting the silence permeate in the room. "Gatrie is a really caring person, isn't he?" Ike paused mid-stroke, which elicited a neighing from the horse, before responding,

"He definitely can be." Pausing and seeing that she was looking better, he asked, "Did you become a knight just to become stronger or was there another reason?" She bit her lip as she paused in her drinking before taking a deep breath.

"You know how when I talk about my family I rarely mention my sisters' more recent activities?" He nodded as she continued, "Unlike my brothers, who are given glory and are seen as people, my sisters and I are seen as nothing more than commodities. My parents have betrothed me to a man thirty years older than I am. He also sounds exactly like the husbands my sisters have. They can barely send messages as it is, as they do not like it when they write to me. It would be different if they had found a man like my brothers." She paused as Ike laid a hand on her shoulder. She then added, "However, I also did do this to become stronger. He gave her a few moments before assuming,

"It's Lekain, isn't it? That was why he came by," feeling her stiffen underneath his hand, he finished, "don't worry, like I said before, you're family, and no snobby senator is going to force you to go away." She broke out into a huge grin before starting to down the tea. "You should probably find somewhere to sleep, unless you're comfortable sleeping next to the horses."

"Actually, when I was younger, I would sneak into the stable and pet my older brother's warhorse and forget what time it was and fall asleep out there. My oldest sister would find me and scowled me for it being not lady-like." She giggled at the end as he moved his hand as he added his chuckles along. "I should be fine making back to my bed, Ike, thank you for the tea." She stood and walked out the door, her pace more confident than before she walked into the room.

_Well that is one problem uncovered, now to see if Soren is willing to talk now._

With that decision, he attempted to hunt him down. Though the place was not large, he found it obvious that Soren did not want to be found, or he was already sleeping. The many salutes he received may have been the possible reason he took less time looking than usual. Hoping to find him before the next battle, he headed to his room, and with only a quick change, crashed on the bed.

OoOoO

Ike had expected many things before the next battle, difficulty with how little he had Reyson actively protected, having to punishing Makalov for trying to spend money he didn't have, or heaven forbid, not allowing the son of Duke Culbert to fight with the strike force. Instead, he had the blued armored General standing in front of him.

"You stole away my training partner and Shinon only had one complaint of her as well." Gatrie whined while standing in front of his employer. Ike sighed, as he knew the man would get into a state when he felt that someone he knew stole the girl he was after. Usually Ike had been too young to do so, as quite often it had been Rhys with his kind smile and willingness to help that had grabbed the single women's attention, according to the grumbles of the man in front of him. He wanted to just brush him off, but that would cause problems later. Obviously Gatrie had no clue of the fiancé situation, and Ike really did not want to deal with the fall-out of having a senator beaten up by one of his mercenaries. While he would approve of it, Ike decided to go with a different tactic.

"Gatrie, what type of enemy do you have the most difficulty protecting people from?"

"Horse riders and flying knights, why?"

"And most of those type of enemies wield lances, correct?" Gatrie raised his eyebrows before retorting,

"But I would never allow her to come to harm."

"Isn't the point of her second weapon to protect her in the rare chance the come from a direction you cannot?" The man harrumphed before walking off. He just shook his head as he continued on to the front, that was the best he would have gotten from the man.

"Your father would have been glad to see how well you handled the situation." He turned to see Titania beaming at him, as she rode over and upon reaching him, kept her horse at his pace.

"Thanks." He pulled out his other sword and checked its sharpness before returning it to the sheath. "Titania, do you think that Father hired Mia so that I could have practice talking to girls that aren't family?" She chuckled at his question before answering,

"Perhaps it might have been a bit on his mind, though I suspect it might also have been because she asked to join us, after all, she had hunted us down. Did Mist say that to you?" He nodded. "She probably was just trying to make sure that her brother hadn't ran away because he became 'a snobby noble.' Though with the fact you and Astrid are becoming good friends, I wouldn't worry about it." Looking around and noticing that Soren was not at the front lines, he questioned,

"Did Soren give a reason he didn't want to be on the field of battle today?"

"He claimed to not be feeling strong enough to make a positive contribution on the field of battle and wished to sit out." She explained while watching him as well.

"I think Soren has been distracted by something, it probably started after meeting with the apostle, remember how he went to study in the library for a while?"

"That is true, I will see if perhaps that is the case after this battle." She assured him as the two made it to the front line and saw the Daein force, which was reinforced by Kilvas Ravens. The brothers suggested they may be able to help bring down Naesala, however, the hawks were willing to talk with him, if necessary. After seeing the ballista and only having one Full-Guard with their forces, Ike decided on having the Hawk King's Ears replace Rhys, who gratefully thanked him before coughing as he left the battlefield. He then order both Marcia and Tanith to wait until Ulki got the enemies archers and ballistas' attention before attacking themselves.

After hearing Nasir's warnings, Ike commanded the forces to move out. Ulki had the order to wait until the first wave of enemies was struck down before charging in to talk with the Raven King. His team charged ahead, as he brought his sword to the ready as he caught the eye of an enemy warrior, his axe gleaming in the sunlight. As he approached, the warrior took a swing at his head, that he ducked under before stabbing through his opponent's chest. The man gurgled while Ike shoved him off of the sword as he watched the man fall. He heard Astrid rush by as she launched two successive arrows at one of the archers on the ballista, the enemy's dying cry alerting him to her success before she moved behind him.

The rest of his team stood back, as they wait for Ulki to initiate conversation. Fortunately, after a blast of wind did little damage due to the Full-Guard, he had admonished the King, who was watching the Heron Prince with deep intensity. Motioning for all the archers on the team to be ready, they allowed the Raven passage. As the two talked, Ike kept his eyes on the other approaching Ravens who were transforming, but not engaging.

"Listen to me, darkwings! We of Kilvas are leaving. Turn at once and head for home." At that, the mercenaries pushed forward, as Marcia and Tanith moved to remove the second ballista on the left side of the enemies. The Daein forces seemed to have been galvanized by this statement as they charged. Ike watched as Oscar, Boyd, and Rolf took aim and downed a wyvern rider as their arrow all hit him at the same time.

Turned back to the charging enemy he caught a myrmidon attempted to take his head. He slammed his sword in the way and the two weapons clanged as he maneuvered both of the two swords to the ground. Bringing his blade up quicker, he landed a small slash on his opponent's arm. The man attempted to stab at him, as his dodge turned the strike into a small injury on his left arm. He brought the iron blade around and the slash fell the swordsman.

He turned towards the main force of his teammates. The remaining enemy riders battled with Oscar, Titania, and Astrid. He tightened his grip as he noticed the green-haired enemy commander digging in and preparing to stab Astrid's horse right where he had done so before in the last battle with Daein. Launching his sword into the air as quick as possible, he quickly followed after it and brought the blade down upon his enemy. The man jumped back, barely avoiding having blood drawn, however, like all the enemies he fought before, he was caught completely off-guard by the quick swing up. The blow lifted the man up slightly, before his body fell to the ground, his sword clattering as well. The force of the blow ruined his own weapon. Reaching for the other blade he carried, he let out a sigh of relief, the enemy forces were running, and quite a few were just leaving their weapons, afraid of being weighed down.

"Ike, thank you for stopping him, I did not realize he had gotten behind me." Astrid explained as she replaced her axe.

"Well, I owe you a couple, so I better get started on that, huh?" She giggled as Ike noticed Titania and a 'recovered' Soren walking over and wanting to talk to him. Nodding, he waved to Astrid before following to see what they had found.

Ike's mind was reeling, his father had been hiding the truth all the time. While he had guessed at what Volke might have wanted to tell him, this was not definitely not what he was thinking about. He took another deep breath, at least Volke told him far enough away that he will have some time to recover before others would see him. His legs were propelling him towards a nearby clump of trees. Once inside and finding a tree large enough, he slammed his remaining sword, and slumped against the base of it. He did not know when to tell his sister, or even if he should. At least definitely not during the war, he could not afford to have her risk being killed because of the distraction. Though he would have to ensure that Mist never lost it. The only person he may have talked to about it, his best friend, was avoiding him. He took another deep breath, he had to center himself, now. He had not let a single tear fall when his father died, and since no one except Volke knew the truth, he could not let anyone else know. His thoughts were interrupted as he heard footsteps behind him, he grimaced, they were much heavier than Soren's.

"Ike?" The young woman paused her walking, perhaps at his sight.

"Astrid." He closed his eyes yet again. "Am I needed back at camp?"

"No, I was looking for you." She replied hesitantly as she walked closer. "Something the matter?"

"I'm just exhausted from the fighting and marching. I just need a good night's rest is all." He blinked a couple of times and looked up at her. She lowered herself to the ground next to him, a small smile graced her face. Ike sighed, while Astrid had become quite closer to him, she knew next to nothing about his parents, and besides she had enough problems with her family. Also, he would have to tell Mist first before letting someone else know. A calloused hand grabbed his, feeling different compared to when he would hold his sister's hand, which had been until very recently, was unmarred by training of any kind.

"Thank you for everything, Ike." He nodded as she turned to look out at the forest as well. He waited patiently for her to ask the obvious question. After a few minutes, the odds of her asking plummeted. His breathing started to slow to its regular pace. _It was definitely the right idea to ask for help back then in Begnion. _ He thought as they both sat quietly, away from everything at the moment, with her thumb slowly rubbing the back of his hand.

* * *

By the way, the part with Nephenee and Brom, Brom in the game had been trying to get Nephenee to talk more in general with people, and the General is a good place as ever to start with no? I'll be trying to have the other character mentioned at a bit in the chapters coming up. Also, I stole some of Astrid and Ike conversation from Astrid and Sothe's support conversation, but I felt they fit. Also, I have no idea if the comment about Mia is true, but I thought it would be interesting to have. Anyways, let me know what you think and if the battles aren't as rushed as before.


End file.
